- Report: Cavs thought Kevin Love was ‘too slow’ and ‘too much of a liability on defense’ before he went to Heat
- Report: Chauncey Billups was fine leading Cavs without LeBron James because he and Tyronn Lue wanted to win from scratch
- Donovan Mitchell praises ‘jumping’ Madison Square Garden atmosphere during Cavs-Knicks playoff series
- Richard Jefferson says he’s only mean to former Cavs teammates after destroying Tristan Thompson on ESPN
- Donovan Mitchell says he should’ve made All-NBA First Team: ‘I don’t know what the standard is’
- Brian Windhorst thinks Cavs and Suns will be targeting a lot of the same free agents next couple years
- Report: Cavs to host Magic for preseason game in October
- Donovan Mitchell unfollows Ja Morant on Twitter amid Grizzlies guard’s troubling antics
- Cavs guard Ricky Rubio considering return to Europe in future
- Channing Frye recalls similar play to Derrick White’s game-winner vs. Miami Heat that ‘hurt’
Report: LeBron James Working on Improving 3-Point Shot During Offseason
- Updated: July 17, 2016
Having made continuous improvement in one of the cornerstones of his career, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James is planning on spending this offseason working on an area of his game that could make him dangerous from anywhere on the floor.
According to general manager David Griffin, that area is his 3-point shot, with his teacher on the effort being new assistant coach and former teammate Damon Jones, who connected on 39.0 percent of his long-range shots during his career.
James has seen his numbers in this category drop each year after a high of 40.6 percent while with the Miami Heat in 2012-13. Since that time, the percentages have fallen to 37.9 percent the next year, 35.4 percent in his first season back with the Cavaliers and 30.9 percent last season. The latter number marked his lowest percentage since his rookie year in 2003-04.
James did improve those 3-point numbers this past season to 34.0 percent in the playoffs. However, being able to use him as a long-range weapon consistently this year would force opposing defenders out of the paint and would potentially open up shooting opportunities for other teammates.
Jones is expected to instruct James in focusing on the catch-and-shoot method, a style that’s also favored by J.R. Smith. Following in Jones’ footsteps would mean that James would be bending his knees on such shots and keeping a compact shooting motion.
The single-season record for James when it comes to 3-pointers is 132 in 2008-09. If Jones is able to transform James’ mechanics, that record figures to be obliterated and the Cavs will have a new weapon to battle the revamped Golden State Warriors.
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